Parashat Hashavua: Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah

What meaning is there in celebrating holidays year after year, rather than only when they feel especially relevant and meaningful? In the Book of Nechemiah, it seems we are being told that Bnei Yisrael had previously celebrated the holiday of Sukkot only once in the Land of Israel, when they first arrived with Yehoshua. According to the very moving narrative in Nechemiah, when the returnees from Babylonian exile gather to hear Ezra read the Torah,

“They found written in the Torah that the Lord commanded Moshe that Bnei Yisrael must dwell in Sukkot during the holiday of the seventh month… The whole community that returned from the captivity made Sukkot and dwelt in the Sukkot, as Bnei Yisrael had not done from the days of Yehoshua son of Nun to that day, and there was very great rejoicing. (Neh. 8:14, 16)

וַֽיִּמְצְא֖וּ כָּת֣וּב בַּתּוֹרָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁר֩ יֵשְׁב֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל בַּסֻּכּ֛וֹת בֶּחָ֖ג בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי:…וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֣וּ כׇֽל־הַ֠קָּהָ֠ל הַשָּׁבִ֨ים מִן־הַשְּׁבִ֥י ׀ סֻכּוֹת֮ וַיֵּשְׁב֣וּ בַסֻּכּוֹת֒ כִּ֣י לֹֽא־עָשׂ֡וּ מִימֵי֩ יֵשׁ֨וּעַ בִּן־נ֥וּן כֵּן֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא וַתְּהִ֥י שִׂמְחָ֖ה גְּדוֹלָ֥ה מְאֹֽד:

The plain meaning of this story seems to be that Bnei Yisrael, after dwelling in Sukkot in the wilderness, celebrated only once in the Land of Israel, when they initially arrived with Yehoshua. This might make sense, as Sukkot would no longer be needed after we stopped wandering. There was one final celebration – maybe for old times sake, maybe because they hadn’t quite settled down yet – and that was it. Perhaps our Babylonian exile, like the wilderness, renewed a need for Sukkot, so when we returned to the land after that exile the celebration of Yehoshua was repeated as well.

The Talmud, however, shifts the emphasis away from a lack of celebrating all those years to the need for the holiday upon our return from exile: “the original sanctification of the land was for that time” – from Yehoshua’s arrival until the first exile – “and didn’t sanctify it forever / קְדוּשָּׁה רִאשׁוֹנָה קִידְּשָׁה לִשְׁעָתָהּ וְלֹא קִידְּשָׁה לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא.” (Arachin 32b) In other words, that first celebration of Sukkot upon arriving to the land with Yehoshua served a purpose that remained fulfilled for hundreds of years, as long as we were there without interruption. Subsequent generations didn’t need to repeatedly celebrate because the sanctification by that first generation endured until the people were exiled and returned, which prompted the need for a new sanctification.

The idea that later generations can rely so much on earlier ones is meaningful in that it emphasizes intergenerational, and practically timeless, interconnectedness. Earlier generations can act in ways that attend to the needs of later ones. There is a downside, however. When the Torah was read to the returnees in Nechemiah, they seemed to know nothing about Sukkot! Thus the positive of later generations relying on earlier ones could be outweighed by the negative of becoming ignorant of what one’s ancestors knew and experienced. How much appreciation can a later generation have for what it knows little or nothing about?

The continuation of the Talmud’s discussion helps answer this question. While contesting the notion that Sukkot went uncelebrated for so long, it suggests that this particular celebration was different. It supports this idea with the pasuk saying that God will bring future generations “into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you shall possess it / אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יָרְשׁוּ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ.” (Deuteronomy 30:5). This, it reasons, is drawing a parallel between future arrivals and previous ones; “just as your ancestors renewed rituals when they possessed the land, so too will you when you possess the land / מַקִּישׁ יְרוּשָּׁתְךָ לִירוּשַּׁת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ; מָה יְרוּשַּׁת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ בְּחִידּוּשׁ כׇּל דְּבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, אַף יְרוּשָּׁתְךָ בְּחִידּוּשׁ כׇּל דְּבָרִים הַלָּלוּ.” Returning to the land in the time of Ezra provided them with an opportunity similar to what Bnei Yisrael had when they first arrived. 

Ralbag, Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (France 1288-1344) elaborates on this in a different way. He says the phrase from the pasuk, “‘as Bnei Yisrael had not done from the days of Yehoshua,’ (Neh. 8:16) means that all those who returned were right with the Lord, reading daily from the Torah, similar to what was done in Yehoshua’s day / רוצה לומר: להיות לב כל הבאים שם טוב עם י״י ולקרוא יום ביום בספר תורת האלהים וידמה שכן עשו בימי יהושע.” Their spirituality and dedication in Ezra’s time thus replicated that of Yehoshua’s time.

These different ideas suggest how we can appreciate and celebrate the holidays of our tradition. In the first there is a meaningful recognition of how in new generations we own our rituals for ourselves. While the Talmudic context relates specifically to the moment of arrival or return to the land – a very physical prompt to reset our collective consciousness – one might also extrapolate this to be a charge to try and make each and every occasion our own in some way. At the same time, from Ralbag we can learn that when we do look back at our ancestors’ ideas and experiences, we will find sources of inspiration and aspiration. In other words, there are important ways in which we should strive to be like them.

As we reach the conclusion of this year’s season of Chagim, may we find authenticity in the moments we celebrate in ways both old and new, connecting us in meaningful ways with our ancestors and each other.

Shabbat shalom and Chag sameach,
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head (Ivrit/Limudei Kodesh/Tefillah)